Tried, Try, and Trying
by Interrobanger
Summary: No one could accuse them of not trying. Happy had tried to do the right thing for a friend. Paige would always try to do what was right for her son. Walter would keep trying to hold everyone together. A/N I hope to include a lot more details from the show in the future. I re-watched everything yesterday to prepare for publishing, and a lot is blurring together. Be gentle!


A/N I don't own Scorpion, or the characters.

* * *

><p>Happy had been trying to catch Paige's eye all week, to find the time to talk to her alone. But it had been a tough private job, interrupted by an even tougher mission. They were finally home: Sylvester had gone off to thoroughly disinfect; Toby was making his dinner in the kitchen; and Walter and Ralph went up to the roof. For a second it was just Happy and Paige by the stairs.<p>

Paige had just set her purse down when she said, "I think I am going up to the roof, too."

"Before you go, I wanted to talk to you about something," Happy said, stopping her from taking her first step.

Paige returned her foot to the floor, awkwardly and a little harder than she meant to. "Is something wrong, Happy?" Paige could tell whatever Happy was about to say wasn't something that she wanted to share. Paige knew that Happy's face was normally hard, closed off, and now was no different, but there was something in her eyes that had changed.

Happy stood her ground by the table, and she kept her focus on Paige's face. "It was three years ago. _Three years_. Walter may be able to tell you the exact day and hour that it happened. Sylvester could tell you the exact number of seconds between then and now. Toby couldn't tell you anything about it, because he doesn't know. _He never needs to know_. You would never have known about it either, if I honestly believed you and Walter weren't accidentally going to happen."

Paige was confused; what was Happy talking about three years ago for?

"We don't talk about it, ever," Happy went on. "Walter and I are great at compartmentalizing."

"You don't talk about what?" Paige asked. She knew they were all great at compartmentalizing.

"When Walter had to be pulled out of the rabbit hole, he wasn't himself. He didn't just need food, water, rest – he needed … something else to focus on." It wasn't shame that kept Happy from explaining, some small part of her cared how it would affect Paige. "If you're going to try with Walter, and I mean really try, you deserve to know that he wasn't just involved with nameless women. He won't tell you; not because he wants to actively hide it from you, just because he won't think you need to know, but he'd be wrong."

Understanding came to Paige slowly; her face flushed and she could no longer look Happy in the eye. How obvious had she been with Walter? It was hard not to admire Walter, but she would be lying if she said it was just admiration. She did admire him, she admired all of them. _All of them._ Did they all know? _Of course_ they all knew.

"I don't need to know any of this," Paige said, her voice faltering as she started to walk up the stairs.

"Paige, wait," Happy said.

Paige kept walking up the stairs. _Nameless_. Happy had described them as _nameless_ women.

The air rushed around her face when she opened the door to the roof. "Ralph, it's time to go home," she said, pulling the hair out of her mouth.

Even though Ralph was special, different than other children his age, it didn't make him immune to not wanting to listen to his mother. He stayed just where he was, next to the telescope with Walter on the other side.

"Walter's testing me," Ralph told her.

"What he means is, I gave him a starting point and then a few equations to find the next point of interest. Like a scavenger hunt in the sky," Walter explained, his voice blending from his natural accent to the more Americanized version he had developed living in LA.

"I really want to go home, sweetie, can you do that for me? You still have to go to school tomorrow, and I don't want you to be tired. How about we plan to spend the night over here Saturday? You can play your sky scavenger hunt with Walter then."

"It will be different Saturday," Ralph said.

"People as smart as you and Walter, will figure it out. Now please, get your things and we will go home."

Walter leaned down and whispered something into Ralph's ear, and after that, Ralph had no problem picking up his bag and heading towards his mom.

"Goodnight," Walter told them.

"Goodnight, Walter," Ralph said.

Paige nodded in his direction.

* * *

><p>Happy tried not to think about what she had done. She was distracted at her station, trying to use a 13 mm wrench when the bolt clearly needed the 12 mm. Her hand kept fumbling on the wrench, twice she pushed the wrench too hard, her hand slipping and effectively punching the bike.<p>

"Hey, what did that bike ever do to you?" Toby asked as he walked out of the kitchen and directly towards Happy's station.

Happy ignored him.

"It's only 2:00 am, I can keep bothering you for another three or four hours before I either have to give up and sleep, or we have to get to work."

"What's going on here?" Walter asked. He had been in his office working when he heard the sound of metal scraping on metal.

"Happy is ignoring me," Toby explained.

"Well, if you offer her couch-time as often as you offer it to me, I understand why she'd ignore you," Walter said, looking at Happy to see if she would react; she didn't. "Did you both write your summaries for Paige, she'll need them tomorrow." Walter noticed Happy's jaw tense for a fraction of a second. "Toby, please go write your report," he instructed, ignoring the fact that he had asked them both the question.

"I always finish before it's a problem, I'll do it in the morning."

"Imagine how grateful Paige will be when it's on her desk first thing," _and how happy Happy will be when you leave her alone_, he thought.

"Are you having a power trip?" Toby muttered. He said, much louder, "Say no more, boss." And with that, Toby walked to his own station with his dinner.

Walter watched Happy work for a few minutes. "I know that you're the mechanical prodigy here, but even I can tell that's the wrong size wrench."

"Leave me alone, Walt. I just want to get through this rebuild and make myself tired enough to sleep." Happy looked like she could fall asleep on the spot. She'd been up for a long time, she was integral to the mission that they'd just finished.

"Is there something that's bothering you that I can stop?" Walter asked, thinking about Toby's ability to annoy anyone to death, and that perhaps he shouldn't expect everyone to not need sleep the way that he didn't need sleep. "Happy, talk to me."

"Talking is what got us in this mess," Happy muttered.

"Happy, push aside your anger, and just tell me the facts."

"The facts?" Pause. "The _facts_?" she repeated, dropping her wrench. "The fact is that I tried to tell Paige something she needed to know and she shut me down. She's supposed to get us to open up, she's supposed to get us to communicate, and she's the one walking away from me when I'm telling her something she needed to know. If I hadn't told her and she found out another way, a worse way, she would have been even angrier. I hope she understands that, I tried to save her from feeling even worse." Happy picked up the wrench again and threw it in her tool box, her hand hesitating while she tried to decide if she wanted to get the right size, or go to bed.

Big speeches didn't work on Walter. This wasn't exactly a big speech, but it toed the line closely.

"What did you have to tell Paige?"

Happy paused, breathing in deeply. "About what happened three years ago," she said, exhaling.

A lot of things happened three years ago. The average person could probably think of three to ten significant things that happened in their lives three years ago. Walter was infinitely more capable to remember what happened. If they were talking about three years ago to the exact day, Walter had wrapped up a small client, and made the team an easy $3,500.00 – it took them two weeks of constant phone calls to get the client to make the final payment, but they did get paid. If it was three years ago sometime that week, Happy had wrecked her favorite motorcycle; the project to rebuild it was a big one, but it took Happy less than two days and she was done. In general though, there were lots of events that could be described as having happened three years ago. Three years ago Toby was in jail for 72 hours. Three years ago Sylvester was hospitalized for a weak heart. Three years ago Collins was committed. Three years ago Walter himself was so far down the rabbit hole he only saw a glimpse of the surface, long enough to accept help. Three years ago he found out his sister was needing to be transferred to a new facility, and he made sure she'd be in the best one possible. Three years ago, Paige was probably already working at the diner. Three years ago there was a drought severe enough they had all of their plumbing upgraded to water efficient versions, all charged to a large contractors account at a local store. Three years ago… three years ago Walter had what society would call a lapse-in-judgment.

Walter's back stiffed as he looked at Happy and asked, "Did you tell Paige about the night that we slept together?" He hated the way the common phrase sounded coming out of his mouth.

Happy didn't respond, she didn't move a muscle. Her hands were half resting, half clenching the table.

"Given how she left tonight, am I to understand she didn't take that well?" Walter asked, impatiently.

Again, Happy didn't respond.

"Why would you think she needed to know that?"

"She," Happy started, unable to finish.

"She thought we were unstable as a group before, now she is just certain of it."

"She looks at you, Walter. She actually looks at you. She doesn't see a guy who randomly shouts out things she doesn't understand. She doesn't see a control freak who can't let people in. She looks at you and she sees you. She might have thought you were a safe choice. A nice guy that won't leave her and her son, because she thought she had that with Ralph's father. She deserved to know that you're just as complicated as any normal guy. She deserved to know; to find out from me intentionally before you mentioned it off hand and then tried to brush it off like it wasn't important."

"Before I mentioned it off hand? When have I ever mentioned it to anyone?" he said, raising his voice. "It wasn't important to either one of us." He didn't care that it might affect Happy by saying it, it was the truth. He knew that she knew that they dealt in truths, that she wouldn't be angry or disappointed with him.

After a long pause Happy said, "But it would have been important to her."

* * *

><p>Ralph had fallen asleep before his head hit the pillow, a rare occurrence for him. Paige was thankful for it though, it gave her time to think. It was past 3:00 am when she realized she had spent nearly four hours obsessing about what Happy had told her.<p>

She was sitting wrapped in a blanket on the couch, phone in hand. _Nameless_. Nameless women. Paige knew that it could be understood in more way than one, but the thought she kept coming back to wasn't a pleasant one.

She knew Walter had previous relationships. She'd even met one of the girls, the same day she met Walter; she had waited on their table. She was average, in just about every way. How did she ever get Walter's attention? Did they meet online? Was she a genius groupie? Was she a client? Paige had never wanted to know before, she had never given the woman a second thought.

Paige knew she had no right to Walter, that she had no reason to be upset that he had relationships before she knew him. Even if one of those relationships was with Happy. She asked herself, _Why did Happy even tell me_? Happy wasn't the type to be territorial over exes, or so Paige had thought. Maybe that's exactly why Happy had told her: _back off, he was mine first_. She dismissed the thought almost as quickly as she had had it.

She felt her phone vibrate in her hand.

**Are you awake? **Walter

Paige thought a while if she wanted to answer his nearly 3:30 am text. Yes, she was awake, but did she want him to know that?

**I would like to talk to you if you're awake.** Walter

Her fingers rested on the phone, she made up her mind when she saw his next message.

**Please, Paige. **

**What if I had been asleep? Would you have kept sending me texts then?** Paige

She hadn't expected him to answer, she knew he wouldn't understand her tone from the message.

**I was hopeful that the sound of your phone would wake you up and that you would want to talk. **

**I'll stop if you want me to.** Walter

**What do you want to talk about?** Paige sent. Just because she thought there was only one logical topic, didn't mean that Walter would agree.

**Are you angry with Happy? **Walter

**No. **Paige

**Are you angry with me? **Walter

Paige waited to respond. Was she angry? Yes. Did she understand why it was making her angry? No. She had no claim to Walter. Walter could still be sleeping with Happy, and it shouldn't bother her.

**Why?** She sent. She knew that she wasn't angry with Happy. She knew that Happy took no joy in telling her what she had. How could she be angry at Happy for trying to comfort a friend? Hadn't Paige used sex to comfort her ex? Paige was wrapped up in the thought of Drew that it took her a while to notice that Walter hadn't said anything. The icon told her he was still active; was he just staring at the phone, waiting for her?

**I understand that it could upset you considering your position here. You want to help us coexist with society. If we're so dysfunctional that a relationship could happen between an employer and his subordinate - that would make your job more difficult. It could upset you because you didn't find out about this for nearly 6 months, even though Happy or I could have told you about it after our first run in with Collins. It could upset you because you trusted us, and it seems like we've kept this secret from you. It could upset you because it's late and you're tired, and when you get tired you get more emotional. **Walter

**Do not blame this on my emotions. **Paige.

It did affect her job, knowing that her boss slept with one of his employees changed things, it changed how she would approach them. She would have to watch them both a little more closely, make sure that Walter wasn't using his position of power over Happy. Just because it wasn't the average office dynamic, didn't make them immune to average office dynamic issues.

She hadn't even thought about the possibility that they could have told her after they worked the nuclear reactor job. How would she have reacted then? She may have felt like she was blindsided now, but six months ago? Would she have accepted it as a fact, just like the fact that Toby had a gambling problem? Would it have changed anything? _Yes_, she told herself. _I would have distanced Ralph more. I wouldn't want him looking up to a man that would do that. I would have wanted Ralph to have a better role model. _

"I am a hypocrite," she said out loud. She was angry with Walter for sleeping with Happy, but that didn't stop her from wanting to.

**Paige?** Walter

**Walter**. Paige

**Where are you?**

Paige looked around, it wasn't quite a quarter till; she was still on the couch wrapped in a blanket.

**Home. Where else would I be?**

**I meant are you in bed, trying to sleep?**

**No. **Paige

**Will you do me a favor?**

A favor?

**What do you want, Walter? **Paige

**Stand outside for a minute.**

**Why?**

**Just do it, please. **Walter

Was Walter outside of her house? She put on a coat and went outside. No one else was out this early, there was no sign of Walter anywhere. Just when she had resigned herself to texting him again when her phone vibrated. It wasn't another text message, Walter was calling her.

"Hello?" Paige asked.

"Paige, I don't know what you want or need to know, but I wanted us to be in the same room when we talked about it," Walter said.

"We aren't in the same room, though."

"I also figured you wouldn't want to be in the same room with me right now, or even in the next few hours," he explained. "This is the largest room in the world, you're in one area and I'm in another."

She chuckled, a little. "Where are you?"

"On the roof."

"I am angry with you," she said.

"Is there something I can do to get you passed this?" he asked.

Paige thought for a moment. She wished they were still texting, she couldn't hear the sound of his breathing when they texted, she didn't feel like she was keeping him impatiently waiting.

"Do you think that I didn't need to know?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't romantic, it wasn't complicated. I needed help coming back to reality and Happy helped me."

Paige knew that sex didn't have to be romantic, it's what helped people cheat every day.

"Paige," he started to say.

"Knowing what you know now, would you have specifically asked Happy not to tell me?" Paige interrupted.

"No."

That was a good sign, at least from her job's standpoint. He didn't show a desire to control Happy when he had the theoretical opportunity to do so.

"Knowing what I know now, I would have liked to tell you with Happy. When I said it wasn't romantic or complicated, I meant it. Our," he paused, "our transgression came out of a unique set of circumstances that are unlikely to repeat."

Paige waited a moment before she asked, "Why did Happy describe your other … relationships as having been with _nameless_ women?" She kept her eyes closed even after she finished asking, as if she were afraid to see something.

"You would have to ask her to be certain, I remember their names," Walter said.

Paige wanted to ask if they had been prostitutes, but she couldn't. "Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" She asked, it was nearly 4am and she still hadn't slept. She was kicking her shoes against the pavement of her driveway, causing little squeaking noises.

Walter took his time responding. "Will you still be bringing Ralph over on Saturday?"

"I don't know yet," she said, turning around in circles in her driveway.

"If you punish him for something that I did, he won't take it well. He'll think you're punishing him and he won't know why. He will retreat into himself and…."

Walter didn't finish, but Paige had a feeling she understood what he was saying. _It'll be harder for him to trust me if he can't see the logic in my decision_, she told herself, using her best Walter O'Brian voice.

"I'll think about it, okay?"

"Just let me know, if you want, I can have the team elsewhere. It'll just be the three of us, if you want."

Just the three of us would have been a dream yesterday. "Goodnight, Walter."

"Sleep well," he told her.

* * *

><p>"Toby, wake up," Sylvester shouted, banging on his door.<p>

Toby was awake, he'd never gone to sleep. He was sitting on his bed, watching the door shake as Sylvester knocked.

"Toby, please. Happy and Walter are arguing."

_Happy_.

"Let me get dressed, I'll be right down." He didn't change everything, just his shirt. He also went to the bathroom and rinsed his mouth out. Looking himself in eye in the mirror as he wiped off his mouth after spitting the mouthwash out. _Happy_, he told himself again.

He walked down stairs slowly, quietly, trying to hear anything before they noticed he was there.

"You're both an integral part of this team," Walter said, calmly.

"Then why are you bending over backwards to accommodate her?" Happy shouted.

"She was sensitive to this situation, given her role here, I'm sure you can understand why dropping that on her was … surprising."

"You make it sound like she's hiding out at home, crying over this."

"She just needed the morning off. Tomorrow, you're going to take the afternoon to do a small job that we've had on the back burner for the past month. You, Sylvester, and Toby will be able to wrap up the Chula Vista client. On the way back, I'd appreciate it if you and Toby went with Sylvester to the Super Fun Guy panel at ComiCon. I got tickets months ago and had planned on going with Sylvester and Ralph myself, but it'll be better this way. I got you a hotel this morning. It'll be fun."

"I am not a baby sitter," Happy shouted.

Walter smiled at her and said, "I don't see what the problem is. Please do as I say, this will blow over next week."

"What will blow over next week?" Toby asked, standing on the bottom of the stairs.

Happy wasn't surprised that Toby heard them, she knew Sylvester had gone off when she started yelling. "It doesn't concern you, Doc," Happy shouted turning to him.

"How about I go get us some breakfast, who wants what?" Toby asked, knowing how to diffuse the situation.

"I'll go with you," Walter said, obviously done with the conversation with Happy.

"Happy, do you want your usual?" Toby asked.

"Yeah, but have them burn it this time."

"Sylvester! Do you want something to eat from the diner?" Toby shouted.

"Could you bring me back a couple of the little breakfast sandwiches that I like?"

"You got it, Sylvester!" Toby shouted again, grabbing his keys and walking towards the door.

Toby drove without speaking, he didn't know what could have Happy at Walter's throat, but it had something to do with Paige. They got to the diner and ordered without speaking to each other.

"We need the Breakfast trio, one of each. Two cheeseburgers, burnt, one with just meat, bread, and cheese, the other with everything. And whatever this guy wants," Toby said.

"I'll take a Denver omelet, and the check," Walter said.

_And I'll let you_, Toby thought.

The waitress repeated their order back to them, confirmed that it was a to-go order, and offered them coffee while they waited.

They waited in silence, Toby watching Walter's face as he checked his phone three times in as many minutes.

"Order 70!" The waitress shouted from the cash register.

"Waiting for something?" Toby asked.

"No," Walter replied.

"Do you want to tell me what the argument was about this morning?"

"Order 71, need a runner to tables four and two!" The waitress shouted.

"I could tell you part of it, but it would just make you want to know everything, and I won't do that."

"Send order 72 back, they wanted that over easy, not scrambled!" The waitress shouted.

Toby considered this for a moment, he was smarter than Walter gave him credit, he would figure out the rest if he wanted to. "Tell me."

"Happy told Paige something last night that has affected the relationship that Paige has with the team. She needs some time to put it all into perspective."

"She Happy, or she Paige?"

"Order 73!"

"That's us," Walter said, standing up, ignoring Toby's question.

When they got back to the garage, Toby stopped Walter from getting out of the truck. "If Paige isn't going to be here this morning, and Happy, Sylvester and I are going to be gone tomorrow afternoon, do you think there will be a problem with us all being together this afternoon or tomorrow morning?"

"Paige and I will be at the field office this afternoon. Tomorrow you'll be woken up fairly early by Sylvester and he'll want to get on the road, because I will have just told him about the Super Fun Guy panel. He won't want to miss it."

"Do you just want to be alone with her? There are easier ways than sending half the team two hours away."

"I don't want her to feel pressured to be around everyone," Walter said.

"How are you sure she won't feel pressured around you?"

_I'm not_, he thought. "Let's get the food inside."

* * *

><p>The morning went by uneventfully. Toby didn't bring up the argument with anyone. Happy didn't leave her station. Sylvester kept distracted at his chalk board. Walter sat at his desk, remembering June 28th, three years ago.<p>

How long had he been at his computer that week? He didn't remember eating, or going to the bathroom in the last several days. He stood up, hesitantly, looking around, he saw Mark simultaneously reading and coding. They were working on a project, just the two of them, they weren't far from a breakthrough. They also weren't talking to anyone but one another. He knew Happy and Sylvester had gone to the store, they had asked if he wanted anything and he had ignored them.

_When we're done with this I'll make it up to them_, he told himself.

"Mark, where is Toby?" Walter asked.

"Who cares?"

"Mark… Mark!" Walter shouted when he didn't respond.

"What? I'm busy, too busy to care where your so called behaviorist is. Sit back down, we'll finish this tonight if you don't stop working."

Walter didn't sit down, he stood there, above his computer and just stared at it. He heard the door open and people walking in, but he didn't turn to greet them.

"Sylvester, put the groceries up, I'm going to check on Walt," Happy said.

_Check on me? What for?_ He asked himself.

"Walter, are you hungry, thirsty?"

Mark made a noise deep in his throat, like he was growling at Happy with disgust.

Walter didn't move, his eyes were still stuck on his computer.

"Walter? Walter, you need a break," Happy told him.

He wanted to turn to her and tell her that he was fine, but he couldn't move. He felt the thoughts slipping through his mind. He felt her put one hand on his arm and the other on his back, guiding him away from his computer.

Mark didn't notice them leave.

Happy led Walter to the stairs. "We're just going to get you upstairs so you can take a break," she told him. "Sylvester, make Walter a ham and cheese sandwich and bring it upstairs." She heard Sylvester respond, but she didn't stray from her task of getting Walter away from his computer.

"Walter, you need to take a break tonight. You've been at this for nearly four days. We need you to reset," she told him.

He didn't respond, he didn't know how to. He understood her, he knew what she was saying, but he couldn't get his eyes to focus on anything besides each stair tread that he needed to step on. His voice seemed to be untied, he couldn't think of anything to say.

They were in his room before he realized it. Happy was pacing around the room. She was talking about Mark and Toby. She was talking about Mark, and then Toby, and then Mark again.

"You don't see what he's doing. Toby can't stand to see it any more. Sylvester can't be around Mark at all, not when he's like this. If he makes one more joke about me rebuilding my motorcycle, I will end him." She went on for a few minutes, only stopping to get the sandwich Sylvester brought him.

She tried to hand him the tray, but he didn't move. He saw the sandwich that Sylvester had made, the small bag of chips, and the cold water, but he didn't know what to do with it. He stared at her.

"Walter, you need to eat," she said, putting the tray on his bed. "Walter?"

He knew something was bothering her, he could tell by the look of worry on her face, the way that she didn't stop looking at him. How long did she stare at him before she finally moved? Walter realized she had moved before he realized that she moved. He was staring where she had been, remembering her there. She put her hands back on him, guiding him to the bathroom. She positioned him so he was facing the mirror.

"Do you see what's wrong with you, Walter?" she asked.

He studied his reflection, everything about him looked wrong. His hair was greasy in a way that it had never been before. He still had dried blood under his nose and on his chin from a bloody nose he had yesterday. His eyes looked dead.

While he was staring at himself, Happy started the shower.

"Walter?" She asked. "Walter, if I leave you alone will you take a shower?"

He didn't move but he saw her in the reflection too.

"Walt," she said, stepping back towards him. She put her hand on his arm, and guided him into the shower, fully dressed.

He felt the water falling over him, running down his face, soaking his clothes. Happy was still right next to him, trying to unbutton his shirt.

"Walter, I need you to snap out of it," she said.

_I can't_, he thought. _I can't_.

His shirt was off, as was his undershirt and belt.

"Can you please undress yourself now?" She said, more to herself than to him. Part of her had given up on him responding, so her surprise when he put his hands on her shoulders resulted in a small yell.

He didn't say anything when he touched her, but he watched her face. She pulled her hands back, away from him, hoping that he would take over the task of unbuttoning and removing his pants. When he moved his hands down to his jeans, he kept his eyes on her.

"I'm going to leave now, okay?" She said.

He shook his head slowly, almost like he was trying to shake out of his distracted state.

"I'll just be on the other side of the door," she told him.

* * *

><p>"Walter, are you ready?" Paige asked him.<p>

Walter looked up, Paige was already standing beside the department assistant who was there to escort them to their meeting room. "Yes, thank you," he said.

They had driven from the garage to the field office in silence, this was the first time that she had spoken to him all day. She still wasn't speaking to him, she was walking next to him looking forward. He had tried to give her some space in the car and while they waited, but he took the opportunity to sneak a glance in her direction. A second was all that he'd need, his photographic memory would preserve her exactly how she was. Even though he knew he'd be able to recall every detail, and that he could look away almost as soon as he looked at her, he didn't want to stop looking.

"Right this way," the assistant had said, ushering them through the windowless door into Suite S-19. "The director will be with you in a few minutes." And with that, she left.

"How is Ralph?" Walter asked.

She looked in his direction, but didn't want to make eye contact with him. She felt herself staring at the beige walls, the small windows, and the standard conference table. Paige was hesitant to tell Walter about the conversation she had with her son that morning. Telling him that it was a possibility that they would not be spending the night at the garage had hurt him, but he didn't fight it.

"He's fine, went to school today without any complaints," she said.

Walter smiled; Ralph wasn't just special because he was a genius, he was special because he could sense when his mom needed him to respond to her, it was a gift that Walter didn't have.

"If you're still interested in letting him spend the night, Happy, Toby, and Sylvester will be staying in San Diego tomorrow night." Walter tried to say offhandedly.

"Are they finally doing the Chula Vista job?"

"Yes, and then there's a ComiCon panel that Sylvester wants to go to so they will be there until the morning."

Paige didn't respond. She knew the result of the three of them being gone. He wanted to talk to her without interruption, Ralph could only stay awake so long.

"Do we need to talk -"

"No, not here." She said, finally looking him in the eye.

"Can we schedule some time to talk later?"

Before Paige could answer the assistant came back. "Sorry to keep you waiting, the director will see you now."

Walter and Paige stood up to shake the director's hand.

"Good to see you again, director." Walter said.


End file.
